Warning: full episode spoilers follow.
On paper, this episode sounded incredibly promising. Our heroes are in a vulnerable position after their clash with Kelly last week. Their location is exposed, and with the strigoi worming their way through barricades and infiltrating the supposedly safe Red Hook, the stage is set for a huge showdown between frightened New Yorkers and hungry vampires. But one thing that’s become clear with The Strain is that a lot can go wrong in the execution, and that was certainly the case this week.
I knew trouble was brewing right away when the “previously on” segment focused so much attention on Dutch and her wayward ex-girlfriend, Nikki. This particular subplot and the resulting love triangle between Dutch, Nikki and Fet has undoubtedly been the weakest of the season. It’s a particularly egregious example of The Strain getting caught up in pointless tangents that do nothing to further the overarching conflict between humanity and the strigoi. Who cares about Dutch’s kooky lover? What does it matter what Nikki has been up to for the past couple weeks? Why is Fet losing his mind over a relationship that is clearly a spur of the moment thing and can’t have been underway for more than a week at this point?
The Dutch/Nikki subplot needs something more to justify all the room the writers are giving it. Perhaps that’ll come when the show finally allows the other shoe to drop and reveals what shady dealings Nikki has been up to. Until then, the character’s only function seems to be dragging both Dutch and Fet down into melodrama. That and stealing screen time that could be devoted to more compelling characters like Gus or Quinlan (neither of whom put in a single appearance this week).
The rest of the episode showed more promise but didn’t really deliver in the end. “The Battle for Red Hook” was good about building up to the the big showdown between Councilwoman Feraldo’s troops and the invading strigoi. There was a slowly creeping tension in this episode that kept building as the showdown loomed. There was a sense that something terrible was about to happen and one or more of our heroes might actually fall in battle. Nowhere was that more apparent than with Setrakian, whose single-minded obsession with confronting Eichorst was nothing if not foreboding. Surely one of them wasn’t going to walk away from that confrontation, right?
Too bad his aim isn’t better.
But that’s where this episode lost its footing. The climax, action-heavy as it was, wasn’t worth all that build-up. Rather than showcase how formidable a threat the strigoi are when they amass for a coordinated attack, the big charge on Feraldo’s forces only managed to diminish the threat. Part of it was Feraldo’s hokey inspirational speech as she rallied the citizens of Red Hook. Part of it was the way the strigoi were so easily dispatched once these untrained freedom fighters showed up on the scene. Why should viewers be afraid of these creatures when they can be killed from behind by a clumsy dagger thrust and always seem to pull their punches whenever they’re attacking a character that matters?
The Setrakian/Eichorst showdown was similarly disappointing, as it didn’t even really happen. No sooner did Setrakian unsheath his sword and invite the former Nazi to “finish this” than Eph interrupted and drew Eichorst’s wrath upon himself. To be fair, the showdown in the warehouse was a pretty gripping scene. Eichorst showed off his formidable side as he taunted Eph and lazily dodged every bullet fired his way like an Agent from The Matrix. Once again, it seemed like the episode was building to something big.
Instead, the confrontation ended in another stalemate. Eichorst was wounded and fled into the night to lick his wounds. The same happened with Kelly’s latest attempt to snatch away Zach. She was foiled but managed to escape with no permanent damage. This is, what, the third episode in a row where that’s happened? There’s a clear formula developing with these villains, and we can only hope that the impending end of the season will break that trend.
Perhaps the real flaw with this episode is that it tried to force a happy ending that wasn’t needed or earned. We’re not at the point in the conflict where we need to see our heroes united and hugging and sending the enemy into retreat. The show needs to concentrate on making this enemy more imposing, not less, and escalating a threat that can carry the conflict through these last few episodes and into the finale.
Sidebar – it was a little strange to see the show suddenly debut a new and much more elaborate title sequence with this episode. I respect the effort involved in trying to achieve a comic book feel, but I still prefer the original version’s “short and sweet” approach.
